Penske blocks Cindric, three more before the Indianapolis 500

Roger Penske said Tuesday he has suspended the president of Team Penske along with three others for two races because of their roles in the season Cheating scandal that shook IndyCar before the Indianapolis 500.

Penske said in an interview with The Associated Press that a review conducted by his general counsel found the team had no “malicious intent from anyone” and called the incident a breakdown of internal processes and miscommunication.

He also said he remains committed to reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and is actively trying to sign the two-time IndyCar champion to a contract extension.

“We are the same company we have been for 50 years and I will hold my head high,” Penske told the AP. “This is an unfortunate situation and when you are the leader you must act. We did that and we will continue. I’m not trying to have a popularity contest.”

Tim Cindric, who oversees all Team Penske operations and is the strategist for Newgarden, is the top name suspended for two races. Also suspended were the team’s general manager Ron Ruzewski, Newgarden engineer Luke Mason and senior data engineer Robbie Atkinson.

Penske told the AP that Cindric and Ruzewski “raised their hands as team leaders” to take responsibility for the chaos.

“For Ron and I as leaders of this team, it’s not about what we did, it’s about what we didn’t do. It is our responsibility to provide the team and all of our drivers with the correct processes to ensure that something like this cannot happen,” Cindric said in a statement. “I apologize for this to Roger, our team and everyone who supports us. Our most important job is to protect and strengthen the reputation of our brand and those who support us.

“In this regard, I have failed as an overall leader and I must raise my hand and be accountable to the others. This is a team and in my position it’s the right thing to do.”

Ruzewski and Atkinson both work on Will Power’s car – Ruzewski is his strategist – and Power is the only one of the three Penske drivers not accused of wrongdoing in the push-to-pass scandal. Penske admitted that Power had done nothing wrong and said his crew members’ suspensions were based solely on their roles within the team.

None of Scott McLaughlin’s team members were penalized.

The suspensions apply to two races, including this weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the Indy 500, which Penske is trying to win for the 20th time.

“This is a big deal, a significant impact on the team and the people involved,” Penske told the AP about the Indy 500’s inclusion in the suspensions. “I talked to everyone and the goal was, ‘How can we move forward, be competitive and win?’ Win the next two races?’ That was the feeling I had when I left the meeting.”

Asked how Newgarden moves forward and regains the respect of his competitors, Penske said: “He has to make it on the track. I think he understands the seriousness of this and I have to support him.”

He said contract negotiations with Newgarden are ongoing, but “I definitely do” and want to re-sign him.

In a statement released when the suspensions were announced, Penske apologized for the team’s behavior.

“I recognize the magnitude of what happened and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I have dedicated so many decades,” Penske said in the statement. “Everyone at Team Penske, as well as our fans and business partners, should know that I apologize and deeply regret the mistakes made.”

The team said an internal review was completed after IndyCar discovered that all three Penske cars had an illegal software system installed that allowed drivers to use the push-to-pass feature on starts and restarts. The system is controlled by IndyCar and is disabled during starts and restarts when the additional power increase is illegal.

IndyCar discovered it in the Penske cars during morning warmups at Long Beach when a glitch in the software caused it to retire all but the three Penske entries. IndyCar’s investigation later revealed that the software was present at the season-opening race and that Newgarden used it to his advantage three times and admitted.

McLaughlin said he used it once in St. Petersburg and that Power never used the software illegally. IndyCar stripped Newgarden of the win in St. Pete and McLaughlin of his third place, while all three drivers were fined $25,000 and had 10 points deducted.

Penske, the owner of the IndyCar racing team and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has been dealing with damage control since series officials discovered the manipulation late last month. Cindric said the software had been accidentally left on the cars since it was installed last August to test IndyCar’s upcoming hybrid engine.

IndyCar said it was working on its procedures to determine why it was not found through inspections at the first three season-opening events.

Newgarden, meanwhile, claims he assumed there had been a rule change and the P2P system was now legal on reboots. McLaughlin said he pressed the button out of habit and took no advantage of the power increase, which lasted less than two seconds.

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AP Motorsports: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing